


Now What?

by Jcapasso916



Series: Letting Go [3]
Category: Norse Religion & Lore, Supernatural
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2017-09-25
Packaged: 2018-05-05 12:14:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,697
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5374823
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jcapasso916/pseuds/Jcapasso916
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Letting Go and Moving on. After being slaughtered by Michael, the guys have to find their way around the afterlife. This will delve heavily into Loki's Norse Mythology.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Michael snorted and kicked Sam’s dead body with his foot. “Soul bound. Idiot,” he muttered before turning to the assembled angels and saying, “Once Gabriel’s grace fully dissipates into nothingness all of his bonds will end. Retrieve the abominations soul and revive him, then put him in the dungeons until he’s needed. Let me know when the other one breaks the first seal,” he ordered as he disappeared, Raphael hot on his heels. 

Little did they know that Gabriel’s grace wouldn’t fully dissipate into nothingness. He was nothing if not prepared. 

 

As Gabriel felt his grace begin to dissipate he reached for Dean’s soul in limbo and anchored it to himself next to where Sam’s soul was already anchored. Just before his grace fully disintegrated it began to reform and the three of them found themselves in what seemed like an underground cavern with a river flowing through it. There was a rickety boat tied to the edge and a large man in a hooded robe walked over. “Loki! Got yourself offed didja?” he asked laughing.

This situation sucked, but it could have been a lot worse so Gabriel gave a relieved laugh and said, “Sure did Marv. Hey give a sec to chat before we head on would ya?”

“Don’t take too long. Wouldn’t wanna upset the boss lady,” ‘Marv’ said cheekily.

“Don’t worry. I can handle my daughter,” Gabriel said with a grin.

“Your daughter?” Sam asked in shock as all the folklore he had read about Loki flashed in his mind. “Wait. We are in the underworld?” 

“What the hell Ga…Loki!” Dean corrected himself unsure if it was okay to refer to him as Gabriel here where they obviously knew him as Loki. 

“Technically we are at the passage to the underworld, but don’t worry Deano. I didn’t forget our deal. I wasn’t sure you wanted heaven after what happened so I brought you along with us to give you a choice. I have just enough juice to send you on one more jump wherever you prefer,” Gabriel told him. 

‘Marv’ spoke up, “I don’t think the boss lady would like that,” he said nervously. 

“I will handle any complaints from my daughter Marv. I made this man a promise that I intend to keep,” he said seriously daring the boatman to stop him.

“Whatever you say Loki,” he said throwing his hands up in surrender. 

“Well…um…what’s it like in the underworld?” Dean asked curiously.

“It’s a little dreary and tends to be boring, but it’s not so bad,” Gabriel said with a shrug.

“So no torture or fire and brimstone stuff?” Dean asked.

“Nah…well not unless you really piss Hel off. Then you might get a little torture, but not for too long. I’d advise that you just don’t piss her off personally,” he said with a smirk. “And there’s a lot of feasting for those in the castle, where we will be of course. Had my place reserved since she took over and I’ll make sure she squeezes in two more.”

“Well since Sammy will be there too, I’ll take it then,” Dean said confidently. 

“Just to let you know, once we go down the river you can’t change your mind,” Gabriel warned.

“Yeah I’m good. Let’s go check out the castle,” Dean said and Sam laughed at his brother’s enthusiasm. 

“Alrighty. Let’s go then Marv,” Gabriel said hopping into the boat and reaching out to steady his companions as they stepped in. 

‘Marv’ settled expertly at the front and untied the boat as it set off down the river and Sam turned to Gabriel. “So what happened to Cas when he died?” 

Gabriel closed his eyes sadly. “There’s no afterlife for angels. He would have just gone into nothingness.”

“But…” Sam started to say and then stopped. He didn’t want to let on to the boatman that Gabriel was an archangel and he remembered him saying that he’d had his place here reserved so he must have done something to override it for himself. He wondered why he hadn’t done so for Cas too, but he would ask at a better time. 

Gabriel saw when Sam realized the answer to his intended question and then noticed the thoughtful look on his face afterwards, “There is a ritual that could have bound him here as well, but he declined. A rebel he may have been, but he still considered himself a soldier of heaven.” Sam and Dean both nodded sadly. 

Their conversation ended when they reached the dock at the other end. Gabriel hopped out and held out a hand to help Sam and Dean out. He hadn’t been kidding when he said this place was dreary. There was no color anywhere he could see. There was a forest to one side that looked dead and twisted and to the other side there was a castle in the distance with nothing but wasteland between them. Beside the castle was what looked like a village, also devoid of color. 

“C’mon buckos. We gotta walk. Powers don’t work here unfortunately,” he said reaching for Sam’s hand and threading their fingers together as he began walking towards the castle, keeping the conversation light on the walk. He would mope later. He needed to keep things together until he got the humans settled at least. 

They had a little difficulty at the gates as the gatekeeper didn’t want to let Sam and Dean past, but Gabriel insisted that they were with him and he would take the matter up with Hel himself. The gatekeeper reluctantly let them pass and Gabriel led them into the main hall where he was met by his daughter who had already received word that he was coming. “Father!” she cried happily pulling him into a hug. “I didn’t honestly think you would ever end up coming,” she said with a laugh.

“Neither did I, but hey, that’s why they call it a backup plan right?” he replied with a smile. He noticed her looking curiously at the other two and introduced them, “This is my bonded soulmate Sam and his brother Dean. I hoped you could squeeze them in here too?” he asked her charmingly. 

“So long as you don’t mind splitting your room father,” she replied cheekily. Gabriel just shrugged, he reserved the second largest room in the place after Hel’s own room anyway. She snapped her fingers, a habit she had picked up from her father, and his room was now two separate rooms and she gestured him to head u. “Evening feast is in two hours. I assume you will all be joining us?”

“Absolutely,” Dean said happy at the prospect of food. Gabriel laughed at him as Sam just shook his head and they turned to head up the stairs. 

Gabriel led them all into his room and Sam asked, “Can we talk freely here?” 

Gabriel said, “Within the rooms sure, but not in the rest of the castle. My daughter knows what I really am, but no one else does.”

“So you are Loki from now on then?” Dean asked.

“Yup,” he said looking at Sam hoping that he would be okay with the change. 

Sam could tell what he was worried about and just smiled and pulled him close. “I will always love you no matter what your name is Loki,” he said softly kissing his lover and tried sending his love across the bond happy to see it worked. 

Dean made a gagging sound in the background and Loki laughed at that and explained to Sam, “The bond is between our souls. They will always be bound together so the bond will always work.” He reached up and ran his knuckles slowly down the side of the hunter’s face. 

Dean felt the need to break the moment before he saw something he really didn’t want to see and said, “So you weren’t kidding about it being dreary huh? Doesn’t seem so bad though.”

“I hate the lack of color, and the lack of fun, and the lack of powers,” Loki said morosely, “But it could be a lot worse.”

“So out of curiosity, what would have happened with our souls if you hadn’t had this backup plan and just dissipated?” Sam asked. 

“Well it would have severed our bond, damaging your soul and releasing the hold I had on Dean’s so conceivably they could have brought you back to life and got their plans for the apocalypse back on track,” Loki said. 

“Yeah. Could definitely be a lot worse,” Sam said cringing. He didn’t even want to imagine his soul living on without his bonded and that wasn’t even considering the whole apocalypse thing.

“So how do things work here?” Dean asked. “I mean she said it was still a couple hours until the evening meal but it seems pretty dark out already.”

“The lightest it gets is twilight and it gets pitch black at night in twelve hour cycles. There are no seasons. The weather is always just as bland as it is now. You won’t need to sleep, but you’re welcome to if you want. Most people do, just to have something to do. There is plenty of lighting in the rooms, but make sure you keep your torch on low and be quiet if you are wandering the upper floors during the dark hours so as not to disturb anyone. There is a feast every six hours downstairs, and you can visit the villages anytime, but let me tell you they are even more uninteresting than here.”

“What about the forest?” Sam asked.

“That’s Fenrir’s domain. Most avoid it because he can come off as pretty mean, but he’s really just a big puppy if he likes you. He just doesn’t like many people. I’ll take you guys out there and introduce you one day. He’ll love you two,” Loki said with a smile. 

They spent the rest of the time until the feast that way, with Loki telling them all about what to expect here and how things work. At the feast Loki was sat next to Hel at the end of the table with Sam to his left and Dean on the other side of Sam. The food was delicious and Gabriel kept a good cheerful face on for the entire meal, but Sam could see the sadness through the mask. 

After they ate, Dean wanted to go explore and after warning him to stay out of the forest until he could introduce them to Fenrir and Loki assuring Sam that Dean would be fine Sam and Loki headed up to their room while Dean went to explore. When they got inside, Sam pulled his lover into a slow sweet kiss and pulled him into the bed next to him and Loki curled up against Sam’s side. “Your masks can’t fool me you know. I can see how upset you are,” Sam said softly. 

“I never meant to fool you. Just everyone else,” Loki said sadly. 

“Want to talk about it?” Sam asked. “It couldn’t have been easy to be killed by your own brother.”

Loki snorted. “Michael’s an ass. Always has been. I mean yeah, that part hurts, but it was nothing compared to watching him hurt you and being powerless to stop it. Nothing could ever compare to that Sammy. It felt like I was being torn in two, but worse. I don’t even have words,” he said in a broken voice and couldn’t hold back the tears. 

Sam pulled him close, kissed his head, and ran his fingers soothingly through his hair. “I’m right here and I’m not going anywhere. I’m fine.”

“You’re not fine Sammy. You’re dead. And we’re stuck here forever.”

“Here’s not so bad. We have each other and that’s what matters. That’s all I’ll ever need to be just fine,” Sam said comfortingly.

“But I can’t even use my powers anymore. I can’t take you places, or get you whatever you want, or…”

Sam cut him off. “God Loki, you think any of that stuff matters to me? I love you. Always. No matter what. All I want is you. Where we are and what else we have is just window dressing. As long as I have you I’ll always be happy,” he said earnestly. 

Loki responded to that by lifting his head and pulling the hunter into a warm kiss. Sam moved his hand’s to Loki’s cheeks and used his thumbs to wipe the tears away. “I love you Loki,” Sam whispered as their lips parted. 

“I love you too my sweet Sammy. Forever,” Loki said pulling the hunter into another kiss.


	2. Chapter 2

Zachariah entered the throne room, dreading giving this particular report. “I have searched heaven for the vessel’s souls and they are not here. I have also checked with our demon contacts and they are not in hell either,” he said with a wince. 

“WHAT?!” Michael roared. “Where are they?” 

“I…I don’t know, my lord,” Zachariah stuttered. 

“Then find out,” Raphael hissed. 

It took another month before Zachariah had anything else to report and if anything, he was dreading this one even more. “I have learned that Gabriel had been hiding on earth in the guise of the pagan god Loki. The rumors are that Loki has died and gone to the underworld, bringing two human souls with him.”

Michael narrowed his eyes angrily. “How reliable are these rumors?” he asked dangerously. 

“V-very reliable,” he stammered. 

“All is not yet lost, brother,” Michael said before Raphael blew his top as he was nearly ready to do. Now that they knew what happened it was time for damage control. “It is a setback, but not as bad as it could be.”

“How can our plans recover from this? The vessels are out of reach forever now. Unless you want to go to war with the pagans to take control of the underworld,” Raphael said barely keeping his temper in line. 

“We will scour heaven for John Winchester’s soul. He should have arrived when he was freed from hell. We will resurrect him as our puppet, long enough to impregnate the human Gwen Campbell. She is from a cadet line, but only one generation removed from the main Campbell line, so still more than acceptable. We can ensure that twins result from the union so that John Winchester need not be alive more than a day and the natural order will have the minimum disruption.”

“And if the girl is resistant?” Raphael asked, not feeling too badly about this plan. 

“Then restrain her,” Michael said as though it should be obvious before turning to Zachariah. “Can you do this one task without screwing it up?” he asked warningly. 

“Yes, my lords. I will see to it immediately,” he said understanding the dismissal. 

“You will contact Lilith. With Azazel gone, she will need to take a direct hand with the younger twin. The apocalypse will still happen. Twenty years is a minor setback,” Michael said satisfied. Things would get back on track despite Gabriel’s meddling. Now that he is out of the picture forever, there would be nothing to stop them. “We will also ensure there is a permanent watch over the children from the moment of conception. We will take no chances this time.”

 

The only indication the group in the underworld had of the angel’s plans was when, about twenty five years later, there was suddenly a large influx of souls. They had heard from Hela that all the afterlife’s had the same, though they had no contacts in heaven or hell to confirm, it was still a pretty good bet that something major had happened. “They must have found a way to pull it off without you,” Gabriel said sadly. He was sad to see the end of the world, but not overly worried about it. He had Sam and Dean here and intact. That was the most important thing. He’d done his part to save the world and they’d all died for it. If no one else managed to pick up the slack, then the world just must not have wanted to be saved.


End file.
